You may have heard rumors today that Sarah Joy Brown, the indubitable mob princess, Claudia Zaccharra on General Hospital, is leaving GH.

Although we are very sorry to see her go, Soapdom can confirm that Brown will make her exit sometime during November Sweeps. According to General Hospital, “her departure from Port Charles will be buzz-worthy for
November sweeps. Stay tuned as we move towards Claudia’s exit from the canvas…”

Sarah Brown first hit Port Charles in the role of Carly Benson on April 8, 1996. She soon became a fan favorite because she could stand up to Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), mob boss of Port Charles, and live to tell the tale. But we were not the only ones who fell quickly in love with Brown’s Carly. So did the mob boss himself, and later that year, Sonny and Carly were married.

Brown left General Hospital in 2000 (and did a brief return in 2001) after garnering three Daytime Emmy Awards and four nominations for her role as Carly. Fans were heartbroken, but soon came to accept her two replacements, Tamara Braun who played Carly from 2001- 2005 and Laura Wright who started as Carly in 2006 and remains in the role today.

After General Hospital, Brown starred in countless primetime series including Cold Case, Monk, Crossing Jordan, Dragnet, The Closer, and K-Ville to name a few. Fans of As the World Turns will remember her brief stint as Julia for 17 episodes from 2004-2005, and she recently completed the TV Movie Company Man, scheduled to air in 2010.

In a true soap like turn of events, the powers that be at General Hospital brought her back to Port Charles in the role of Claudia Zacchara in January 2008 to again attempt to thwart and woo mob mastermind, Sonny Corinthos. Thanks to machinations of Claudia’s mob boss father, Anthony, she again became Sonny’s wife.

According to Brown’s Twitter page, she is indeed leaving General Hospital. In a tweet earlier today she wrote: “All the news that is fit to print. Claudia Zacchara has been a wild ride, every ride stops when the music ends. The Music stops mid Oct.”

From this we gather that she is finished taping in mid-October for her final scenes to air during November sweeps.

Later in the day, Brown tweeted: “It’s been nice being back at GH, but it's time for the Character to come to an end, at least for me. Much love :)”

Then she treated us to a tweet about her next project: “Have a film in the works for Nov - a lead role to die for - and we shall c what else comes up. Thank you for your support, means the world!”

So the question remains, how will Claudia exit Port Charles? Is her fate to be sealed by her vengeful father? Her mob boss brother? Or will she succumb to Sonny’s hand once he learns the truth about her part in Michael’s ordeal? Stay tuned to General Hospital and find out

Soapdom wishes Brown the very best as she begins this next phase of her life and career.